Top 10 RPG Cutest Guys

Happy Valentine’s Day! In celebration of this wonderful holiday, we’re going to look at the top ten cutest boys in JRPGs! That’s cute in a strictly PG-13 way. We’re not getting into sexy in this article. For this list, I’m only looking at main characters. Sorry, Sephiroth is not going to be on this list. Also, to represent a broader range, each game series only gets one entry on the list. After all, I wouldn’t want to neglect lesser known pretty boys after having every single Final Fantasy  dude on there. I’m looking at the categories of looks, personality, and character development. I also want to look at what the character does in-game, because they are supposedly part of the team. So, let’s get down to business.

10. Vyse, from Skies of Arcadia. Vyse is a daredevil. An absolutely crazy daredevil. He has a strong sense of adventure, and unflagging optimism that is remarkably contagious. His monocle goggle is pretty cool, as well as his silly shirt sleeves. Overall, he’s moderately handsome in a rugged sort of way. He learns how to get serious over the course of the game, but that’s about it for his development as a character. In battle, he’s unfortunately just your standard physical attack specialist. He can cast magic just like the rest of the party, but he’s usually more effective attacking.

9. Hiro, from Lunar 2. This guy is kinda cute, with his face markings playing off his tan skin pretty nicely. He’s really curious and excited about the world, but he manages to be remarkably empathetic towards people who are in trouble. He manages, narrowly, to avoid being unthinkingly-in-love, but only by deepening his initial attraction to the first girl he sees. In battle, he’s actually pretty versatile, with the standard male RPG protagonist  physical attacks being supplemented by wind magic. He’s still pretty classic, but there’s just a little bit more to him.

8. Hero, Dragon Quest VIII. No, his real name isn’t “hero.” You just get to name him. And, somehow, even despite being a silent protagonist, you really get to know this character. He’s a bit of generic do-gooder, but he proves himself to be dependable and loyal. His character doesn’t receive much development though. Maybe it’s because he’s so generally likeable that he rates as high as this on the list. In battle, he’s basically the best character. He’s got a solid mix of skills, with some healing magic thrown in with travel and attack magic. He has all around decent to good stats, and has a number of good equipment options. In a word, he has subtle protagonist powers, in that he’s very good, but not broken.

7. Oswald, from Odin Sphere. Oswald is a creepy stalker. In a good way. Despite the fact that he decides that he loves Gwendolyn before she even meets him, and then takes her from her father as payment for services rendered, he ends up respecting her freedom. He’s definitely a melodramatic character even for the game he appears in, and is more than a bit emo. He’s really stick thin, but his face is pretty enough, in a dark sort of way. As a character, he handles like a brick. He has the highest starting hit points, but that’s about all he has going for him. His combos don’t work very well, and shadow form is just not very useful.

6. Adell, from Disgaea 2. Adell’s got some pretty nice guns, and his shirt definitely shows them off pretty well. He’s one of those neighborhood guys type of person, with a strong sense of honor. His character doesn’t really develop over the normal course of the game, so not much going for him there. He’s pretty solid in battle though. Not quite as stupidly overpowered as Laharl, he’s a great physical attacker. His magic could use some work, but all in all, he’s very useful. Too bad he ends up playing such a traditional role.

5. Yosuke Hanamura, from Persona 4. Okay, Yosuke’s attractiveness might be a little questionable to some, he radiates a perfect “boy next door” kind of cute. He’s super awkward, and has his class-clowny moments, but he really does have a fair amount on his plate, and he deals with it in a surprisingly touching way. His looks aren’t anything great, but on the other hand, he isn’t hard on the eyes. In battles, he’s your wind elemental specialist, though he gets a few healing spells on the side. His stats are pretty middle of the road, meaning he’s a solid addition to basically any party.

4. Zelos Wilder, from Tales of Symphonia. Zelos may be a playboy, but his heart is somehow in the right place. His long hair, held by a headband, is alright, but mostly his best feature is that he has the balls to wear a speedo. His development is interesting, as it’s never quite clear whether or not he’s actually on your side. In battles he’s your jack of all trades, with a solid mix of attack magic, healing magic, and sword skills. While he never excels at anything, he’s a fun character to play as, and can fill in for another character that you don’t like as much.

3. Arnaud G. Vasquez, from Wild Arms 4. Arnaud is pretty cute in his tight bell-bottoms, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. While he tries to be upbeat and might seem not to take anything seriously, he actually cares very deeply about those around him. He takes the role of the adult in the party, even though he’s only 18 himself. In the end he proves himself to be a “good man,” and sticks by his woman no matter what. He’s your attack mage in the game, which is actually a pretty unusual role for dudes like him, so props for that. He even has decent physical attack power and great speed, which makes him a key part of your team.

2. Riku, from Kingdom Hearts II. Okay, this is slightly spoileriffic, I guess, so if you care about that kinda stuff, then don’t look at this entry. But, when Riku finally joins your party at the end of the game, he’s starting to look pretty studly. Maybe a little bit on the sullen side, but with his position as someone who’s had to walk between light and darkness, with emphasis on the darkness, you can’t really blame him. His development is okay in this game, what with his whole issue about being ashamed to face Sora and all. In battle, he’s a pretty handy ally, and the only ally you have for the final battle. While the sections where you have to play as him are pretty annoying, he is still a great ally.

1. Balthier, from Final Fantasy XII. While this game might not have been everyone’s favorite in the series, it sure did have one great character. Balthier’s a sky pirate, with all the dashing romanticism that implies. He’s sardonic, savvy, and just a little bit troubled by his past. As far as looks go, he’s definitely rocking those sideburns, and has a remarkably reasonable haircut for a character in a JRPG. He is also the only male character in his game with a decent shirt. His character changes a little over the course of the game, especially once you learn of his origins. Otherwise, he’s pretty close to Han Solo, which is never a bad thing. In battle, well, that might not really apply to this game, since all characters end up exactly the same by the end. Still, when you get him, his gun skills will prove to be a nice complement to the melee attacks the other characters favor.

Anyhow, that’s that. Next year you can look forward to the girls. Everyone knows you have to go through the men’s hot spring to get to the women’s hot spring.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Review

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is one of the first games I remember reading about in a magazine. It got a huge amount of hype for being the first in the series to feature fully 3-D environments, and also for having cell-shaded graphics that would best show off the artwork of Akira Toriyama. Bearing for the first time the rightful title of the series, this game was a little surprising to a lot of people in America, who knew the series as Dragon Warrior instead. For whatever reason, the series was hugely popular in Japan, but only moderately successful in the States. Even so, Dragon Quest VIII  got people’s attention. I didn’t get to play the game for a long time after I read about it, but when I did, I found that there had been some really great design that went into it.

The game begins with you heading into town with a wagon, accompanied by a small Namekian and a scruffy bandit type. You jump straight into the quest with a minimum of exposition, basically to the effect of “evil jester cursed the kingdom, and you’re out to stop him.” The story starts off kinda slow, and meanders significantly, but by the end of the game, you get a pretty decent plot. The game plays out mostly as a bunch of side-quests, many of which are really fairy-tale-like. For example, in one kingdom, you have to help a king who is grieving for his dead wife to extremes, and to solve the problem, you have to go to a certain hilltop at night, and pass through a door made of the shadows of the moon. Inside, you find an elf, who uses his music to reunite the king with the good memories of his wife. It’s mostly unnecessary to the main plot, but it’s a pleasant little story. And if the main plot is not very good for a long while, the side stories are well-written. Also, if the cell-shading doesn’t make this game look like an anime, it at least makes it seem something like a colored manga, with running gags and some pretty good still shots.

The characters in this game are pretty interesting, with a number of really deep side characters, as well as some well-developed villains. The ultimate evil villain isn’t very great, but some of the minor villains along the way do some devious stuff. The playable characters are decent, if not 100% great. Yangus is an ex-bandit, who has his gruff, earthy ways, but a good heart. Jessica is an aristocratic sorceress who is kind to everyone, especially children. And Angelo is a templar by name and a flirt by habit, with a sardonic approach to most things. The main character doesn’t get much, because he’s a silent protagonist avatar for the player, but there are some interactions that give you a good idea of what he’s like. All the characters in the game are significantly helped by very good, if occasionally excessive, voice acting. Most of them have British accented English, but there are a few other accents thrown in for good measure.

The battle system is solid, if a little bland. You get to attack, use magic, use an item or flee. There’s also the option to intimidate enemies instead of fighting them, but that doesn’t work very much. You can psyche yourself up to increase the damage of your next attack, but again, it’s not terribly useful except in one or two circumstances. What is really cool about Dragon Quest VIII’s system is how you level up. Whenever you level up, you get some points to put into one of the character’s weapon or skill proficiencies, which, once enough points are put in, yields some special ability or attack. An example might be if you level up Yangus’ club skill, his attack power increases with club weapons. Another example is Jessica’s sex appeal skill, which gives her access to the hustle, which restores hp to all party members. You’ve got five skills for each character, so you won’t be able to max out much more than one or two.

There’s a bunch of fun stuff to do on the side for this game. There’s a monster arena, where various monsters you catch on the world map can fight other monsters in teams. You can make things by combining two or more items into the alchemy pot and walking around for a good while. This is especially cool because there are some items that are useless until you combine them with something else, and you can get some really great equipment. Plus, the mini-medal collecting and casino aspects of previous Dragon Warrior games returns. It’s a good thing that many of these sidequests have rewards, because you do not get very much money from monsters relative to the cost of new equipment. This often means you’ll have to make do with equipment that you find laying around or make yourself, rather than relying on buying up the best gear available.

Dragon Quest VIII is a reasonably long game, so you’ll definitely get some good mileage on that front. However, the early game is pretty unimpressive, and you only really start to have fun when most of the sidequests have opened up. If you don’t mind that early part, you definitely can find a lot of interesting things to do on another playthrough, because of the level up system that forces you to choose only one or two of five areas to specialize in for each character. And, since recipes you discover for the alchemy pot will, for the most part, work at any point in the game, your old save file’s recipe data will help you get through the early game more easily. All in all, this game rates a “one playthrough, and then a good two or three more to really get all you can.” As a final note, you can unlock some optional areas after you’ve cleared the game once, playable on the file that cleared the game, so there’s an epilogue of sorts to play through.

The rating for this game is pretty easy. There’s very few issues with this game, and most aspects are either outstanding or at the least good. However, it is unfortunate that some of the weapon/skill trees are simply not very good at all. It reduces your opportunity to try out different strategies to some extent, because there are only a few that really work. That, and exploring, especially areas that you can use a mount of some sort, is really tedious, with a slow walking speed and huge map. So, the numbers. This guy’s running in at 9.2 out of 10. It’s a really excellent game, and even the minor issues don’t hurt the game too much. Yeah, it takes a little getting used to it, but you’ll be glad you did once things start to open up a little.

How I Broke Game: So, mystifying mixtures are made by combining a moonwort bulb, an antidotal herb, and a medicinal herb. They sell for more than the total cost to buy these ingredients. However, their price is weird. I sold them for 290 gold at some points, and 980 at others. I have no idea how this happened.

Quick Tip: If you’re not doing anything else with the alchemy pot, put a pair of herbs in. You get tons of herbs through the game, and the good healing items you get can be really helpful.

If you liked this game, you might want to try playing one of the following games. Dragon Warrior VII, which is not even close graphically, but has similar story elements and an even better class system. Dark Cloud 2 is made by the same developer, and has some really good item creation systems, not to mention similarly cell-shaded graphics and decent voice acting. Legend of Mana has an entirely non-linear story, made up of vignettes, and also has some item creation in it.